Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Law

Withholding And Withdrawing Life Support From Adults At Common Law, Joan M. Gilmour Jul 1993

Withholding And Withdrawing Life Support From Adults At Common Law, Joan M. Gilmour

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article examines the circumstances in which life support can legally be withheld or withdrawn from adults. It analyzes the situation of patients who are both capable and incapable of making decisions, taking into account recent jurisprudence in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Where competence is not an issue, both law and modern medicine espouse a strong normative commitment to patient self-determination. However, when no clear indication of the patient's treatment preference can be ascertained because of decisional incapacity, then the question of terminating life support is much more difficult. The author describes and analyzes the two …


Defining The Right To Die, David M. English Jul 1993

Defining The Right To Die, David M. English

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.


Death By Default, James Lindgren Jul 1993

Death By Default, James Lindgren

Law and Contemporary Problems

It is argued that most people would prefer that their lives not be artificially prolonged and that, in the absence of evidence that a particular person would have preferred otherwise, courts should permit life support to be withdrawn. A counter argument is presented.


Interstate Preemption: The Right To Travel, The Right To Life, And The Right To Die, Lea Brilmayer Mar 1993

Interstate Preemption: The Right To Travel, The Right To Life, And The Right To Die, Lea Brilmayer

Michigan Law Review

State laws differ, and they differ on issues of tremendous importance to the ways that we conduct our lives. Abortion and the right to die are two issues on which state law intersects with deeply held moral convictions, and on which state laws vary. With so much hanging in the balance, it is not surprising that those who find themselves outvoted or outmaneuvered in local political processes sometimes seek a legal climate more compatible with their beliefs about human decency and dignity. The right to "vote with one's feet" - to travel or move to another state and trade a …


Active V. Passive Euthanasia: Why Keep The Distinction?, Yale Kamisar Jan 1993

Active V. Passive Euthanasia: Why Keep The Distinction?, Yale Kamisar

Articles

In the past two decades, we have witnessed a "sea change in public, medical, and legislative judgments" about "letting die" and the "right to die." But it is no less true today than it was 35 years ago, when I first wrote about this subject, that in Anglo-American jurisprudence active euthanasia (what used to be called "mercy killing") is murder.


The "Value Of Human Life" And "The Right To Death": Some Reflections On Cruzan And Ronald Dworkin, John M. Finnis Jan 1993

The "Value Of Human Life" And "The Right To Death": Some Reflections On Cruzan And Ronald Dworkin, John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

These reflections focus on three members (one professor and two alumni) of my Oxford college. Though University College officially bears the name The Great Hall of the University of Oxford, it is only one of that university's 30 colleges, and not a particularly large one-only about 450 students and teaching fellows like myself. My title's focus on one named law professor may already seem narrow. How then, you may wonder, can adding two more names from the same little institution in England make this lecture less parochial, and more relevant to Southern Illinois?


Physician-Assisted Suicide: The Legal And Practical Contours, Anthony J. Dangelantonio Jan 1993

Physician-Assisted Suicide: The Legal And Practical Contours, Anthony J. Dangelantonio

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

This paper considers current medical and legal perspectives on patients' right to assistance in dying. In highlighting the competing policy objectives that must be resolved, it examines failed legislative initiatives in Washington and California. It also considers a pending New Hampshire proposal. The last shows the difficulty of simultaneously alleviating physician's objections and achieving proponents' goals.


Has The Time Come For Doctor Death: Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legalized?, Wendy N. Weigand Jan 1993

Has The Time Come For Doctor Death: Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legalized?, Wendy N. Weigand

Journal of Law and Health

A "true" doctor-assisted suicide can be distinguished from euthanasia in that the patient is actually bringing his or her own life to an end. The doctor in some way facilitates the action, either by providing the means for the suicide, such as in the New England Journal of Medicine article, or by giving the patient some kind of instruction as to the best way of carrying out the act. The difference lies in the fact that it is the patient killing him or herself with the help or advice of a physician, not the physician acting directly to shorten the …


Defining The Right To Die, David M. English Jan 1993

Defining The Right To Die, David M. English

Faculty Publications

Although Friedrich Nietzsche was not noted for his views on medical ethics, the above quotation captures the essence of James Lindgren's article. Lindgren posits that the recent O'Connor' and Cruzan decisions signal a shift in the law on the withdrawal or withholding of treatment. He concludes that the requirement set forth in those cases-that an individual must have clearly and convincingly expressed his or her wishes before treatment can be terminated--errs unduly on the side of life. Basing his conclusion primarily on preferences revealed by public opinion polls, he contends that a better rule would be to presume, subject to …


Withdrawal Of Treatment For Minors In A Persistent Vegetative State: Parents Should Decide, Ann Maclean Massie Jan 1993

Withdrawal Of Treatment For Minors In A Persistent Vegetative State: Parents Should Decide, Ann Maclean Massie

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.


Medical Futility: Has Ending Life Support Become The Next Pro-Choice/Right To Life Debate, Daniel Robert Mordarski Jan 1993

Medical Futility: Has Ending Life Support Become The Next Pro-Choice/Right To Life Debate, Daniel Robert Mordarski

Cleveland State Law Review

This note will provide an analysis of the issue of medical futility and propose "solutions" to the issue. Part II considers the definition of "medical futility" and different ways to view the concept. In Part III, the position is forwarded that medical futility is a question of values which the medical profession is not necessarily more qualified than a layperson to answer. In Part IV, medical futility will be examined in the context of existing law. This section also addresses the potential tort liability of a health care provider who unilaterally takes certain actions based on the concept of medical …